A Cajun Courir

Participants in a Courir de Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday Run, gather under a large tent before the run begins.

Louisiana’s Cajun country, home to a collection of towns settled by French Canadians in the late eighteenth century, lies in the expansive swamp and prairie region between New Orleans and the Texas border. Each year, on the day before Ash Wednesday, several Cajun towns host Courir de Mardi Gras, a ceremonial run that is believed to have its roots in Medieval French begging customs. Participants travel the countryside on horseback and on foot, soliciting ingredients for a communal gumbo that is prepared at the end of the run. The most coveted foodstuffs are live chickens, which are tossed into the air by residents and chased down by runners along the way. The elaborate costumes, crafted by participants, were traditionally intended to mock aristocrats; the capuchons, or crowned hats, for example, originally satirized the headpieces worn by noblewomen in Medieval France.

Last Tuesday, in the middle of a sleet storm, the photographer William Widmer took part in a run outside Eunice, Louisiana. This courir was established eight years ago as an alternative to larger runs that have been overtaken by visiting non-residents. Widmer was permitted to photograph while he ran, but the community asked that its location, and the names of the community members, remain undisclosed. While the cold weather caused the festivities to be cut short, it was, as Widmer told me, “welcomed in a certain way. The first ten minutes everyone was soaked, but the costumes, masks, rain, and mud all reinforced a sense of community.”